Texas Preschool

I think nearly all states are leaning toward getting younger and younger children into school. That says either parents are not teaching, or there has been a failure of day care to do more than primary care.

The problem most states have is funding, and that always makes me laugh. The more money you throw at something, the more complicated it gets and the worse it gets. Very natural and real things like educating very young children doesn't need money, it needs a committment to ideas. For every class of 10, you need 500 square feet (350 by law, but good grief) some learning toys and children's furniture, a playground, and someone who knows what to do. At $100.00 per week, that's $1000.00 per ten children.

July 28, 2005, 10:57PM

By CYNTHIA LEONOR GARZA

2005 Houston Chronicle

Too many children are starting school unprepared, according to a coalition of
education and public-policy experts who are seeking to expand preschool
opportunities for all Texas children.

"Study after study unambiguously demonstrate the critical role that the first five years of a child play in terms of child development," said Kaitlin Graham Guthrow, executive director for the Texas Early Childhood Education Coalition.

The group, in cooperation with the Texas Program for Society and Health at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, released a plan earlier this week which, in the next decade, would seek to expand access to preschool programs, improve their quality and make them more affordable.

Such a system would continue to include public school prekindergarten, Head Start, and other nonprofit and for-profit child care providers.

"Access to high quality preschool programs including child care, Head Start and prekindergarten could be the single most effective mechanism to improve the outcomes of our state's public schools," said Dr. Alvin Tarlov, retired executive director of the Texas Program for Society and Health and a key architect of the 67-page document known as the Texas Plan.

Texas gets low score

The National Institute for Early Education Research gives Texas a score of 3 of a possible 10 in terms of preschool quality. Class size and teacher training are among the reasons why the marks are low.

In expanding preschool programs, Texas is joining other states, including Oklahoma, Georgia and Florida. But the goal of offering preschool to all children younger than 5 makes the Texas Plan, "the most comprehensive (preschool) plan, not only for Texas, but for the country," said Libby Doggett, executive director for Pre-K Now, a national advocacy organization.

Texas will likely follow the lead of other states by first expanding to all 3- and 4-year-olds, Guthrow said.

HISD expanding services

Locally, Houston Independent School District Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra will detail today a $1.9 million move to expand the district's prekindergarten program to serve all eligible 4-year-olds for the first time. Saavedra will make the announcement at 10:30 a.m. at the Armandina Farias Early Childhood Center, 515 Rittenhouse.

Last year, about 1,300 eligible 4-year-olds were left out of the program because of a lack of resources.

To qualify, a student must be economically disadvantaged, homeless, or unable to speak and understand English. HISD spends about $20.5 million a year on its prekindergarten programs, according to district spokeswoman Adriana Villarreal.

Everyone agrees that the biggest challenge for the Texas Plan will be funding. The coalition, comprising 175 organizations, plans to establish legislative priorities and appoint a financing committee.

The goal is to figure out "how can we optimize every single dollar to get the
greatest return," Guthrow said. The coalition will look at what other
states have done, but because Texas has the second-largest child population,
including many who are poor and non-English speakers, it's "very hard to
translate what other states have done," she said.

cynthia.garza@chron.com